The Winsock Direct model is a communication model that provides a system area network (SAN) to applications. Dual TCP stacks run on the same system using the same IP address. Some of the TCP connections are processed by a Microsoft stack. Some established TCP connections can be offloaded to a hardware stack. The Winsock Direct model has not been applied on a true TCP/IP connection (e.g., the Ethernet), instead it has been applied only to a proprietary interconnect.
When a packet arrives as part of an established connection, a mechanism is needed by which the packet can be routed to either the Microsoft stack or the hardware stack. If the packet is delivered to the wrong stack, then the connection will terminate in the ensuing confusion. The problem becomes even more acute if a packet arrives before a TCP connection has been established.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art through comparison of such systems with the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.